Gallery Assistant at Hands On Children's Museum

Description

Status: Part-time, 20 hours or less, weekly.

Wage: $17.00 Hourly

About Hands On: 

The Hands On Children’s Museum is located on the picturesque East Bay waterfront in downtown Olympia. We are a nationally known family learning destination and the most visited children’s museum in the Pacific Northwest hosting more than 300,000 visitors each year. Our mission is to stimulate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills through rich, interactive learning experiences. We believe that all children deserve respect and the opportunity to learn, regardless of their ability to pay, which is why the Museum works hard to serve more than one-third of its annual visitation through the Inspired Learning for All initiative. The Museum is recognized as a national Museum for All and won a Noyce Foundation Bright Lights Award for bringing art and science education to underserved populations.

Voted a “Best Place for Kids” for more than a decade, the Museum offers a state-of-the-art LEED Gold facility with 150 indoor exhibits, a half-acre Outdoor Discovery Center, Art Studio, a MakeSpace for tinkering and inventing, café and gift shop, and award-winning education programs including camps, workshops, preschool, parenting classes, field trips, community outreach and family support programs.

Position Overview:

Work for an award-winning Children’s Museum, voted a “Best Place for Kids” for more than a decade! This position is perfect for people who are excited about engagement and interaction with the public in a fun, fast-paced, learning environment! Gallery Attendants are responsible for engaging visitors in play and making their visit magical. This includes monitoring exhibit areas for safe play and maintaining the cleanliness, organization, supplies, functionality, and safety of the museum exhibit galleries. Participation in special museum events, special projects, and department and staff meetings is required.

Essential Job Functions:

• Physical requirements include stooping, kneeling, bending, standing, squatting/crouching, crawling,      pushing/pulling, climbing up and down stairs, and reaching above the shoulders.
• Ability to respond rapidly.
• Working outdoors exposed to sunlight/heat or rain/cold.
• Lifting boxes, tables, chairs, stools, and other exhibit pieces up to 30 lbs., and team lifting to 50lbs.
• Must be able to perform work duties in an environment with noise and crowds.
• Must be able to use a walkie-talkie system for communication with other staff members.
• Ability to access, input, and retrieve information from the computer. 

Requirements

Availability Requirements

• Must have Weekend availability.
• Must be available for school holidays, museum events, and occasional after-hours events.
• Must be punctual and dependable.

Knowledge, Skills & Talents

• Must have a high level of energy, enthusiasm, flexibility, and patience.
• Ability to communicate with the public, including Museum visitors, parents/caregivers, and community members in a courteous and professional manner.
• Ability to communicate with museum colleagues in a courteous and professional manner.
• Must be able to work independently and multitask in a fast-paced environment.
• Supportive of the Museum’s mission.

Job Duties:

General operations:

• Understand and support the museum mission in the performance of job duties.
• Ensure the highest level of customer service for our visitors by actively using the Creating a      Welcoming Environment training.
• Respond immediately to safety issues such as lost children, ringing doorbell or fire alarms, bodily fluid spills, injuries, or other emergencies. 
• Report customer, exhibit and staff concerns to supervisors and senior managers immediately as issues arise.
• Special projects as assigned.

Job Specific:

• Facilitate safe play with visitors by modeling how exhibits function and using the inquiry method to engage visitors
• Maintain exhibit galleries: re-positioning of exhibit props after visitor use, ensuring exhibits are tidy and ready for use, and replenishing consumables in exhibits as needed. 
• Report minor and major repairs of exhibits and facility to the Facilities Team and Gallery      Services Supervisor. 
• Reports any incidents or injuries to the Manager on Duty.

Additional Tasks as needed for support:

• Set up and break down exhibits and multi-purpose rooms daily according to museum and program schedules. 
• Support the Museum’s birthday party program by escorting families to their party rooms, and ensuring rooms are properly set: re-setting rooms between parties. 
• Support schools visiting on Field Trips.
• Maintain organization of onsite storage areas.
• Maintain facility exterior as needed. 

Workplace Values: 

Achieving our mission requires great people who actively demonstrate our core values.

 To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 professional references.

Compensation & Benefits: $17.00 hourly, medical, dental, and vision, employee wellness program, paid holidays and time off, a 401(k) retirement plan, and lots of adorable children. Benefits vary by number of regularly scheduled hours worked, length of employment, and employment status. See the benefit details for this position here. 

For more information, please visit our website at www.hocm.org 

The Hands On Children’s Museum exhibits, education programs, and employment are available to all without discrimination.

Wage Description:

$17.00 Hourly